Br. Curtis Almquist

John 14:27-31a

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

This word “peace,” which we hear in our Gospel lesson, is not the mere absence of acrimony and conflict in the world that surrounds us. That would be the peace the world gives, which, of course, is desperately needed in our very torn world. However, Jesus is here talking about peace from the inside out. He’s talking about being at peace in the storm. This entails two things.

For one, our own inner peace comes from surrendering to the terms by which God has given us life. It is otherwise possible to live rejecting, or resenting, or regretting one’s whole life long, or to live one’s life in complaint or comparison, which is no way to live. Don’t wait until the end of your life for peace, when you hope to rest in peace. Receive now this gift of peace Jesus promises us. You may need help with this. Many people, certainly I, have needed help to receive Jesus’ gift of peace. Get help. You’re worth it. Get the help you need so that you can receive and unwrap Jesus’ gift of peace, which Jesus has promised us.

There’s also Jesus’ promise of peace for other people: the desperate need for peace for those near and those far away. This gift of peace is not a standalone. Peace for our world can only come as an outgrowth of justice. In the absence of justice, “peace” can be a form of oppression, the strong imposing virulent obedience on the weak. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” [1]

The peace Jesus promises us is addressed in Greek with a plural second-person pronoun. Jesus is saying, “Peace I leave with you all; my peace I give to you all. I do not give to you all as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” [2] This is how we can understand the coupling of peace with justice, peace-receiving through justice-making. This is where we have agency. This is where we must act in some way within our own reach to redress, in Jesus’ name, in Jesus’ power, and in Jesus’ love, the egregious injustice that surrounds us, and “to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.” [3] Then we – we all – can fully appropriate the gift of peace Jesus has given us. [4]

[1] Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, 10 December 1964.

[2] The Greek pronoun is ὑμῖν, plural, “you all.”

[3] Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, 10 December 1964.

[4] See James 2:14-17.